seaQuest Challenges
by heart-of-a-volunteer
Summary: A selection of very short drabbles written as a response to word and lyric prompts. Some are based on my stories, some are completely random. Each challenge is posted as a separate chapter and I'll update as new ones are written.
1. Tipsy Tim

_Tipsy Tim_

_Word Prompt – Tipsy_

_Set sometime during the first season._

_**Now updated and complete.**_

_*******_

"Did you put something in this?" Tim asked, screwing up his face in disgust.

Ben simply looked back at him innocently. "No, it must be getting to the end of the cylinder or something," he insisted.

Seated beside him, Katie watched with suspicion as Tim took another drink of the 'soda' Ben had bought for him a few minutes ago.

"What?" Ben shouted, incredulously, over the music, noticing Katie's glance.

'_This definitely doesn't taste right,'_ Tim mused to himself. '_Never mind, maybe the next one will be better_,' he decided, and downed the contents of the glass.

To his surprise, Ben immediately offered to buy him another couple of drinks to make up for the bad one. He looked at him, quizzically, questioning his motives. It certainly wasn't usual for Ben to willingly part with his 'hard-earned' credits, but it also wasn't an offer Tim was about to refuse.

The drinks still tasted slightly strange, but not nearly as bad as the first one, and since he didn't have to pay anything, he was willing to make the small sacrifice and put up with it.

It was a pretty neat little bar they'd found themselves in. He'd have to take note of the name for the next time they docked there. Plenty of decent tunes, good company, and plenty women – something both Miguel and Jonathan had already taken advantage of. It usually annoyed him, having his friends desert him in favour of chasing women, but for some reason, despite the usual antics, tonight he found a smile constantly tugging at the corner of his mouth.

In fact, he was having a pretty good night. '_Maybe I should join in too_,' he thought, and scanned the room for any potentials. '_It must be my night_,' he decided, as he caught sight of a pleasant looking brunette over by the bar. '_She seems alright – not too attractive – not too scary. Hell, it's worth a shot!_'

With his target firmly in sight, he disentangled himself from the legs of the table and lowered himself from the bar stool, only to find his legs weren't functioning as well as they once did.

"Woah!" Jonathan exclaimed, leaping up to help him keep his balance.

"I'm alright, it's good," Tim insisted. '_One foot down, lift the other. Man, this floor is really uneven_! _Head up, she's looking this way. It's all good, Tim. It's all good._'

"Ben, seriously, _what_ did you give him?" Katie asked again.

The others looked at him, expectantly. "Just some vodka."

The silence that greeted him, clearly gave away their scepticism.

"Ok, some double vodkas," he admitted.

"Oh, he's going for it," Miguel interrupted, cringing as he noticed the direction in which his friend was headed.

"Oh Lord," Ben stated simply.

'_What in the world is going on with me?_' Tim thought, making his way across the floor, in what was beginning to feel like a marathon trek. He shook his head, attempting to clear his thoughts. '_Am I drunk?!? No! Can't be, well…Ben!!! No, calm down, not drunk. Just a little tipsy, that's all. Woah, where'd she come from so fast?_'

"Hi," Tim beamed at the brunette. "I'm tipsy…uh, Tim…I'm Tim."

The woman smiled warmly, or could it have been nervously? He wasn't sure which. He was going to give Ben hell later – if the alcohol didn't knock him out first.

"Are you with them?" she asked, catching him give Ben an icy glare – at least he hoped it had been Ben.

'_Maybe taking my glasses off wasn't such a good idea_.' "Uh, no – they're with me," he joked. '_Smooth, Lieutenant, very smooth. Easy does it._'

"So you're a sailor?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"My friends and I come here a lot – you learn to recognise the locals…and you guys definitely aren't locals."

"Yeah, with friends like mine we tend to stick out," he blurted.

She wrinkled her nose at him, not quite comprehending. "What do you mean?"

"Well, like you said, they're sailors – they're charismatic – the kind of people that people are drawn to." He began to wonder whether the drink had loosened his tongue a little too much – where was all this coming from?

"You don't include yourself in that?"

'_Yup – definitely said too much_.' "Not really," he mumbled, hanging his head, embarrassed. He'd gone and blown it – it was obvious – he could feel the awkward tension pouring from her. No doubt she'd make her excuses and leave.

"If it makes you feel any better, I understand," she said, unexpectedly.

It was his turn to be confused. He looked up, a little too quickly, and had to wait a few seconds for his balance to catch up. "I'm sorry?"

Again the smile – he decided it was a nervous one. "You see that group of rather under-dressed girls over there who just asked your friends up to dance?"

Tim looked over to see Jonathan and Miguel among them, dancing badly. Surprisingly Ben had stayed at the table with Katie. "Yeah."

"Well, _they're_ my friends," she admitted.

"Huh…so why aren't you with them? Why are you sat here by yourself?"

She locked eyes with him for a moment before turning away. Perhaps he'd asked the wrong thing. "Maybe so someone like you would have the chance to speak to me."

"Oh." '_You're blushing! Get a grip!_'

Her smile widened. "I'm Cassandra by the way, Cassie, Cassie Parker," she said, reaching out a hand.

He took it without hesitation. "Nice to meet you Cassie. Lieutenant Tim O'Neill." He didn't miss the look of surprise that flashed across her face. It was gone before most people would have had the chance to notice it, but he was used to it – no one ever seemed to expect someone like him to be an officer. "Can I get you another drink?"

"Um…"

'_Oh, here we go, she'll be planning her escape_.'

"Actually…would you like to go somewhere else? This isn't really my scene."

He looked up at her in astonishment. "Uh, yeah, sure, absolutely," he nodded. '_Some air would definitely be good right about now_.'

***

Ben smiled smugly as he watched the fruits of his prank walk out of the bar.

"Where does he think he's going?" Miguel asked, also noticing them disappearing.

"Nice one, O'Neill!" Jonathan laughed, grabbing his drink off the tray Ben had just returned with.

"You should spike his drinks more often," Miguel joked.

He barely had time to let the words register as a 'congratulations,' before Katie thumped him hard across the head.

"Don't even think about it," she muttered, taking a large gulp from her glass.

He eyed her, unimpressed. '_I know whose drink's I'd love to spike_,' he grinned.


	2. Rebel To The World

_Rebel To The World_

_Lyric Prompt - "And the way he roll, just a rebel to the world with no place to go_."

_I've ended up writing a lot about Miguel Ortiz and so had to create a back-story for him – this is part of that. Set pre-seaQuest._

***

How could he look at their faces? So full of disappointment - so full of concern - so full of love.

He even flinched when she reached out and took his face in her hands, leaning close, her voice barely a whisper.

"Don't burden yourself with this my boy. You must try to move on."

But how could he? Walking away wouldn't erase the memories – the regret.

It had to be done. They were looking at him expectantly – willing him to go so they, too, could move on to rebuild the shattered remains of their hopes for the future.

A solemn pat on the shoulder was all his father could give, and so, with a brief backward glance, he turned and walked away from them – from everything.

His head told him this was the right choice – that he didn't really have any other options, but his heart shrank from the idea. '_I shouldn't be here_.'

"_None of this should have happened_,_" he said, dismally._

"_Bit late saying that now," Leandro growled from the other side of the partition._

He could barely stand to look at his brother. Each time they locked eyes his mind swung with a disorientating mix of repulsion, love and guilt, knowing that while he was off trying to make a new start somewhere, Leandro's life had effectively been ended. Once he was eventually released, the life he'd known would be long gone – and so would Miguel.

"_The navy can take you places,"_ the recruitment officer had preached. Miguel had always hated the idea – knowing that the places the navy could take him would probably be places he didn't want to go.

It was with contempt that he watched his homeland disappear beneath him as the plane sped in the opposite direction. Contempt for a world that had once held so many possibilities. Contempt for a world that could let its' children descend into the darkness that had overtaken his brother. Contempt for the brother who could allow his own flesh and blood to be pulled into the same darkness. But most of all, contempt for himself for allowing it to happen.

This wasn't where he wanted to be. But this was where he was going to be – a fact he would have to get used to.

He'd spent enough time being led around without thinking for himself. He'd been given a lifeline, and it was his responsibility to make the most of it – no matter how much he disliked the idea; he was out of options.

Thinking about what he had been forced into only made the anger grow. It would be a long time before the cold reality of acceptance took hold.

The customs officer glanced at his passport without much interest. "Is this a one-way or a return trip, Sir?" he asked.

"One-way," Miguel answered, mournfully. "One-way."


	3. Dolphin Dreams

_Dolphin Dreams_

_Word Prompt – Dreams_

_Set during the Season One Episode, 'Hide and Seek.'_

_***_

Tim had no idea how relieved he'd been. For seven days now he'd been plagued by the thought that he was going nuts.

'_I mean – who dreams about a dolphin?_' he thought to himself, aggravated. '_Except Lucas_.'

And who could he tell about it? They'd all just laugh and quickly come to the same conclusion he'd already made – that being cooped up in a submarine had finally gone to his head.

Seven nights – the same dream – over and over again, with no idea what it meant. The first couple of nights he'd shrugged it off, but then it kept happening. It was tiring, never mind frustrating. There had been enough going on lately without this adding to it. He didn't feel himself, and just looking at Darwin gave him the shivers. If Darwin was in his head, what sorts of things was he seeing in return? It wasn't even worth thinking about. He just hoped it was a one-way connection.

Eventually, out of desperation, he'd told Tim, and thankfully he'd kept it to himself. It had been good to get it off his chest, but it had done nothing to alleviate the problem. Now Tim had started having them too and, as relieved as he was not to be the only one, he just wanted to know what was going on – what was Darwin trying to tell them?

"Turns out Lucas has been having them too," Tim told him as they walked along the deck to the moon pool.

"For how long?" Miguel asked.

"About the same time as you."

"This is just weird."

"It's not _that_ weird. Wierder things have happened on this tour."

Miguel looked at him, aghast. "That's alright for you to say – this isn't the first time you've had a dolphin in your head," he quipped.

"What's that got to do with anything? It's not like I'm used to it!" he defended.

"I'm just saying…" Miguel began.

"What…? That I'm the one that's weird?" Tim barked. He understood Miguel felt the need to distract the attention away from himself – after all – who'd want to admit to what they were going through? But that didn't give him the right to make him feel like the carrot in the fruit bowl.

"No!" Miguel barked back. In hindsight his remark had been uncalled for, so he swiftly retracted it and apologised. "What are we gonna do about it?" he asked after a moment of regretful silence.

"That's why Lucas wants to see us," Tim explained. "He's got some idea about rigging Darwin's tank so we can see what he's thinking."

"What, psychic projection from a dolphin?" he asked, sceptically.

Tim looked at him sidelong with a grin. "You're asking me that when you've been receiving messages from one for a week?" He laughed as Miguel pursed his lips sheepishly. "If this isn't proof that dolphins are psychic, I'm booking Doctor Westphalen for a head exam."

"You won't be the only one," Miguel groaned.


	4. Go Your Own Way

_Go Your Own Way_

_Prompt - Guitar Hero World Tour_

_Song - Go Your Own Way (Fleetwood Mac)_

_Set in the aftermath of the Season Two episode, 'And Everything Nice.'_

_Disclaimer – Fleetwood Mac lyrics written by Lindsey Buckingham. I do not own these or anything to do with seaQuest._

_***_

'_Sandra_.'

It sounded innocent enough, innocent and unassuming. She was no Helen of Troy, but she'd certainly been enough to turn him into Paris; abandoning all reason in favour of deserting and recklessly endangering his friends – something he wasn't about to forgive himself for in a hurry.

It was an age-old tale, he reflected, as he made his way back to his quarters; that of the unwitting man giving his all for the beautiful seductress, and being led to nothing but heartache and ruin. He'd always thought himself better than that. '_Guess I was wrong_,' he mused.

He ran his hand through his hair, noticing both the distinct grimy feel and the waft of odour that emanated from his underarm. The Captain had suggested he take a shower – he hadn't washed in two days – but he really didn't feel like it; he had little enough enthusiasm for anything, let alone something that actually involved expending energy. He couldn't even bare to think – he just wanted nothingness.

The strains of music caught his attention as soon as he entered the corridor. Tony was in their room and, by the sounds of things, chilling out with his own brand of musical entertainment. Lucas sighed in annoyance. It seemed silence and solitude weren't going to be found here. He turned to seek isolation elsewhere when the echoes of off key singing and raucous laughter reached him, causing him to pause.

"_Lovin' you, isn't the right thing to do_."

This was clearly Tony, but the laughter indicated there was more than him in their quarters.

"_How can I ever change things that I feel_?"

Intrigued by the noise, he backtracked and hovered outside the door.

"_If I could, baby I'd give you my world_. _How can I, when you won't take it from me_? _Yeah_!"

Lucas laughed as Tony added an impromptu exclamation of enthusiasm onto the end of the line and entered into the chorus with an accompaniment of other vocalists he recognised as being Tim and Miguel.

So absorbed was he in the commotion that he failed to hear the footsteps marching along the deck towards him, and jumped as a hand was slapped firmly on his shoulder.

"Hey, Lucas!" Jim grinned. "You joining us?" he asked, holding up the bottles of juice and bags of chips he'd brought from the mess.

"Uh," he barely had time to mutter before Jim swung the door open and pushed him in ahead of him.

"…_you can go your own way_," the guys continued singing.

"Hey!" Miguel greeted.

"Hi, Lucas!" Dagwood grinned at him, happily.

Lucas looked around him, horrified, upon realising exactly what it was they were up to. In all the commotion of the past few days he'd completely forgotten about it – the video game he'd ordered – _Guitar Hero World Tour_. It had obviously managed to catch up with them while they were in port. In gamer terms it was a classic. Despite all their advances in virtual games, there really was nothing better than the old fashioned, hands on approach and he'd managed to get a hold of one – mint condition.

"_Tell me why, everything turned around. Packin' up, shackin' up's all you wanna do_," Tony continued, bellowing into the microphone.

Though looking at it, instruments spread out between them, packaging in shreds on the deck, it could hardly be called mint now. He laughed, despite himself, as Miguel, who was wielding the guitar, sidled up alongside Tony to sing the next line.

"_If I could, baby I'd give you my world_. _Open up, everything's waiting for you_."

"Hope you don't mind – I saw the box and couldn't resist," Tony admitted, shouting to him between lines, and laughing as he noticed it had been picked up by the mic and lowered his score.

"No," Lucas shook his head, bemused and disappointed. "Why would I mind? Help yourself, you usually do," he muttered, climbing up onto his bunk to watch them. With few other seating options in the room, Jim climbed up to join him.

"He didn't mean any harm by it," Jim assured him. "Thought it might cheer you up."

"I know," Lucas sighed. The song reached the instrumental, allowing Miguel to mess-up in catastrophic fashion with the guitar solo, and Dagwood to go wild on the drum kit. The scene was absurd and, yet again, he found himself laughing at it.

"Guess it's doing the trick, huh?" Jim laughed also.

"Yeah," he admitted.

"How about letting me have a go next time?" Tim asked Dagwood.

"No!" Dagwood answered, shaking his head dramatically to emphasise the point.

"You know we had people willing to _pay_ us for a chance to play this thing?" Jim told Lucas. "How'd you get hold of one anyway?"

"I have a friend with supply connections," he laughed, dryly, making a mental note to thank Ben for that later.

"_You can go your own way…"_

The chorus started up below them again for the final time, prompting the participants to goad their friends into joining them.

"Come on," Jim smiled, pushing him down from the bunk to huddle round the microphone and join in the cacophony of noise.

"_You can go your own way_…" Lucas sang, lending his voice to the effort, and with pleasant surprise, feeling his heart lighten in the process.


End file.
